Set Fire , indeed!

I wanted to write something different tonight but I somehow went to YouTube and watched the singing performance of Shila Amzah at the Asian Wave Shanghai 2012 singing competition. I can tell you this : I was blown away by her performance and her Mandarin rendition "Zheng Fu" popularised by Na Ying. Gosh! she is really good. No doubt that her father, singer, N.D.Lala would have been very proud of her.

I saw her earlier singing clips at the competition and she practically blew away the likes of Alan Tam and Hacken Lee, who were the chief judges, by her sterling performance. What can I say except that she has a really good voice, melodious, faultless pronunciation of words; be it in English, BM or Mandarin - truly Malaysia and one you would go to the record store to get an album. I don't know about you but she sounded really good especially on an Adele song " Set Fire to the Rain". I thought this was the clincher for sure until I hear her rendition of "Zheng Fu". Great! Really great indeed. When Shila sang the Mandarin song, you could see that the judges gave her a standing ovation and so did the crowd, man. As a Malaysian Chinese, I salute her for taking the courage to compete in the Chinese dominated music industry in China and WON! That's the best part of all! Truly a superstar!

She started out with the song "Gemilang" which was good and set the tone right for the competition. Then it got better and better. Really, I was really blown away by her performance. It is true though - our obnoxious, narrow minded, racist and mad leaders from our country should learn a thing or two from her about being proud as a Malaysian. Mind you, she sang all the songs with the major languages used in this country and she did it WELL enough! 

Throughout her performances , she was a true blue Malaysian Malay lady and I like what she does with her ways . The other performance which captivated me was the performance from Wan Ying , also a Malaysian singer, who wore the baju kebaya and sang a Datuk Siti Nurhalisa number namely " Bukan Cinta Biasa". That too was a great performance. Her grasp of the Malay language, pitch was perfect and intonation was faultless and really am proud of her too. She too received accolades for being a true Malaysian and the comments were very encouraging. I really believe she sang this song beautifully indeed coz' it is hard to do a Siti's number if you don't have the vocals to match it. All in all, these two ladies gave me the goose bumps tonight. Though it had been a tiring day for me, performances like these helped you chased the blues away. Certainly it did! Just great relaxation, awe for such talent and thank God , it is being used in a great manner! 

Come on, go ahead and check it out on YouTube. You'll be amazed just as I did! See, the grin will come to your face.......

Lemons of life.......

At the work site where I have been working on for about a month now, I have come to know some of the hired hands personally and their life stories can be pretty amazing. I guess, being who I am , I am always very interested in the lives of the people whom I come in contact with each day. Let's just say that I am genuinely interested in lives and I want to be able to overcome and challenged the prejudices, the pre-conceived ideas, the differences and try to make this space on each a better place to live in. I would be glad if I could learn something off this experience of working at this site and the people who had worked at this site. It is a hard time at the site but it is these colorful personalities that brightened up the work site and I kinda............miss it! Sure, it is absolutely ludicrous but that's the honest truth......

It started out with four hired hands or the main cast namely in Shafeeq, Firdaus, Pak Man and Nafee. Then it's an alternate between Shah, Pak De, Fairuz and Din.  Long-haired, quiet and kinda averagely built, I thought Din would last but he was actually the first one to tumble out and couldn't last the pace of the work after a hard day's work.He disappeared after a day at work!  Interestingly over the weeks, I was able to see the other side of the remaining workers and blend in with them by being a friend to them during breaks and meal times. On work times and days, I would ensure that work was done properly and sometimes, I received acknowledgement as the bad ass at work. So be it if that's how they are going to perceive me as I also have a job to do and need to get the work done correctly. In all, Shafeeq earned my highest respect. He is a leader, easy-going and generally a good worker. He commands the guys well and co-ordinates the work properly. The surprise package is actually Firdaus. Small size, very young boy and loud personality, this guy can really work. In some work I asked him to do, he was quite up to it and even does it well enough as far as I was concerned. A few days ago, he suffered a deep cut on this left hand but he still worked on. So was Shafeeq who suffered a deep cut on his right hand and still worked on. Pak Man is the oldest in the group and thereby the wiser one. He is the father-in-law of Nafee. He had worked tirelessly at the site and ensured that everything is in order before my inspection. He cleaned up the place quite nicely. A joker and an easy going person but sometimes gets tired easily especially after an all-night work at the docks. Yup, these guys held other jobs too namely they worked at the docks. Pretty interesting, isn't it? But I must say, they are quite "lasak" bunch of people.

The two characters whom I will always asked questions would be Shah and Fairuz, probably in their early 20's. These are people who had been VIP ( very important penganggur ) for the past 2 years. Yup, you heard me right! It is jobless for the past 2 years! I often wonder how one could be jobless for 2 years. I probed and got their views on why they were jobless thus far. Honestly, there wasn't an ounce of reasoning on their part but downright excuses. I tore to shreds their reasoning which was really poor excuses. In fact, I told them both jokingly that if I have been been their brother, I would have whipped their sore ass so bad that they would begging for mercy and work! It really intrigues me when people say that they are jobless. Even Shafeeq, Firdaus and Pak Man would shake their head in jest when I jokingly poke fun at them during breaks. I told them that it is no excuse not to have any work. I told them to get their butts off the floor and get some decent paying job and start putting food on the table for the family. Gave them some sound advice on the need to work for the well-being of the family and also, to ensure that one's dignity and sanity are kept sound. I even told them that there is no hard and fast rule to the road of success. Every journey of life starts with the small steps and progressed slowly from there. Somehow, these days, the boys seemed to work well and I was truly glad I had the peptalk with them. Then there is Nafee, the short and plumpish stevedore. He wasn't the fastest worker nor the intelligent one but he is hardworking. Despite his tonnes of domestic problems/issues, he was still working at the site diligently until a few days ago when something traumatic happened. I was glad that everyone gave him a piece of good advice and I was no exception. I took him aside, spoke to him of my early struggles and managed to pump up his spirits during work in those working days. Unfortunately, I was told he couldn't withstand the difficult time he was facing a few days ago. Poor chap! Anyway, everyone did their best to cover his work at the site and pulled their weight together for him. Sometimes, when in deep pressures of life, it is better to go to work and let the energy go into it than to sit down and brood in broad daylight wallowing in self-pity and self-condemnation. Yesterday, I had asked Shafeeq to take care of Nafee so that he would not land too deep in the pit of worries lest blow the fuse in his brains. Knowing these young people, they would probably blow the fuse even before the switch is placed on. Somehow, mentally, these young dudes are not as tough as they look, serious.

All in all, it has been a tremendous pleasure and joy being able to work with such personalities. Sometimes, you learn a whole lot more from such people because they are the ones who are really on the ground and working hard to eke out a living each day. So , in diverse and extreme conditions, it is always how we juggled life's lemons, right?

Jubilee Melaka 2012

Last night, my family and I joined other families of the Christian faith in celebrating Malaysia Day in a very special way. It was Jubilee Melaka 2012. The celebrations started early in our churches and it was a great drum up before the event itself ; later in the early evening. As usual, my family and I went to Dataran Pahlawan early as we did not want to miss the opportunity to gather and rally peacefully, encourage and meet fellow Christians from different churches, sing our hearts out to the Lord and pray to the Lord to bless this nation of ours. I guess, when a good event like this is being organised, the participation from the people is very important. At first, the crowd was a little small except for the P&W team of musicians and singers.I was unduly not worried as the crowd would come because this is a good event. Slowly but surely, the crowd started to trickled in and soon, the trickling became a mass of people singing, dancing and clapping. The P&W team knew that the crowd would have to be led into the spirit of worship and they did just that. It was great knowing that with great co-operation amongst the churches, a mixed worship team was put up to set the right tone and the right atmosphere for the occasion.

I met a lot of new people and familiar ones, as usual, but one in particular, Lily whom I have not met for quite some, stood out during this gathering. We spoke briefly and I got to know that she became a Christian not too long ago as her husband is a Christian. She was genuinely surprised to know that I am a Christian too  but we are both happy at meeting each other. I guess, in many ways, I am glad and happy that I have always remained true to myself and I do not pretend to be who I am not.Well, all I want to say is God is great,yunno.

I met more people and more new people around and soon, a sea of people started to gather. From the very first opening song by the worship team, we were all in one unison. We sang, we danced, we clapped and enjoy the presence of the Lord together with my friends and their families. It was truly an awesome sight and sound especially with the multiple dances and performances. Then, there was the blowing of the shofars signalling the start of the Jubilee celebrations. More shouts of joy, singing , dancing and joyful clappings to the songs followed through. We then had a praying session in small groups for the people and the nation. The people who gathered at the field and the surrounding areas near the stage at Dataran Pahlawan prayed earnestly and in unison for the good of this nation and for the coming generations. 

My family and I were blessed by the gathering. At the back of my mind , I wished that there were more of us out there who would pray earnestly and petition to God for His blessings upon this nation. This is not about the show of the people of our faith but more to openly gather and pray for the well-being of this nation. We can all play our part by being prayerful, respectful and by doing the right thing for the well-being of this nation by petitioning to the One Above so that He would continue to pour out His blessings, protection and well-being of this nation. May we continue to have greater peace, joy, love and prosperity in this country of ours. May God's hand of protection be upon His people and may He poured out His blessings always.

To me, I will always remember this wonderful advice given by a good friend a long time ago - " You may never know how you have encouraged or inspired someone;  for your life may be the only Bible this person knows. "

Dissecting....

The other morning, I was listening to a delightful radio station when there came a segment whereby one of the listeners posed a dilemma to the DJ that morning. It is about a woman who faces the dilemma of should she tell her friend, who is going to marry her ex-husband, about her ex-husband abusive ways. It will be his third marriage and this woman who was his ex-wife was in a dilemma whether to say something about it or to just keep quiet. To me, this is a very good and genuine question. There was a male listener who called in and says that she should not interfere and sorta short of telling mind your own business while one DJ answered in a way that almost echoed the male listener respondent plus the fact that the abuser might have changed his ways, get on with life and so on.. The other DJ answered more practically that she could leave a hint to her friend in the form of an anonymous tip and so on to forewarn her friend of the guy's abusive ways. To me, third marriage? When will the women ever wake up,man? Change for the good? Fat chance-lar!

For me, I am just so perplexed by the responses that came by. Everyone seemed to be on the defensive and non-caring mode when it comes to issues like this. I have learned over the years that abusive men/women don't just turned angels overnight. Even if they do, which is a very small fraction or the minuteness of a fraction, it is usually associated with a religious miracle which had occurred over their lives - a certain life or death situations. I don't claim to be an expert or head shrink but I have read and seen a lot of such characters in my life time. Abusive people are all about themselves. They are so full of themselves. They have domineering traits, sly repulsive traits of enormous jealousy and the very suave talker. I have found through my experiences of dealing with abusive people is that they would beat the daylights out of their partners and the next minute, they will weep like babies seeking for forgiveness and swear by repentance as they lie through their teeth just to scrap through after the realisation of what they have done to their partners physically. Make no mistake that these are generally potentially very dangerous people who would snake their way out of the situation by the seduction play of sympathy and sweet-talking. I tell you, if only you could see what barbaric acts of physical abuse they can inflict to their partners, then probably , you would not stand at the centre of the fence and so-call " butt out" like what the one suggested by the male listener & the other DJ. 

Some people defend this kind of traits as they go about trying to "educate"/ rehabilitate these abusive people. To me, they don't change their "modus operandi" or their stripes of deceit or abuses. Probably, these so-called counsellors would be conned into thinking that there are changes when in actual fact, these abuser ply on their knowledge before they explode in a more vicious manner. Generally, the explosion of jealously, alpha male/female stand and domineering spirit will start the abuse rolling. It's that obsessive compulsive power to dominate that gripped them so much. Ask any victim of abuse or see their bruises and you will feel very sorry for them. I share this from the bottom of my heart over the experiences I have encountered. I have seen how a young man would weep his heart out seeking forgiveness on Monday and then whacks the daylight out of his girlfriend on Tuesday as if nothing had happened on Monday. That's an abuser trait!

Yes, I do have my religious inclination/obligation to forgive/"rehabilitate" such people but I seldom give an inch of fresh air to such individuals mainly because they do enjoy whacking and physically abusing their partners and most of the time, their partners suffer in silence. In return, if I may be honest, I would inflict the same treatment on them and watch the drama unfold later on. The one thing I truly cannot accept is the fact that this is even made worst when one is married to an abuser whereby in our society such as ours today, taking a beating is an accepted thing and all part of the marriage process. My answer to you is that it is a complete rubbish.and whole lot of hogwash! Marriage is about the sacredness of one's promise to God in keeping the union of two people and to protect each other. Taking a beating is NOT part of marriage as getting abuse is NOT part of our culture today.  To me,  abuse in any form would have to be stopped and it starts with YOU!

I hope that answers the dilemma the listener as far as I am concerned. The truth hurts but it needed to be told especially to a friend. Would the friend listen to such advice? I would say probably not but at least, you have  carried out your responsibility of telling the truth. Usually, abuse victims don't lie and they do have bruises to prove, ok? 

So, I do believe the listener who had called in about the dilemma and I say to you, WELL DONE and thank your lucky stars that you have walked away from a monster!